Fun in a New World: revised edition
by ShadowFAIT
Summary: A rewritten version of my discontinued fanfic. This follows episodes 12-13 after Zuko joins the gang. A spunky girl winds up in their world and joins the gang, but has fun while at it. OC/pending
1. Inaccurate Fortune

Two years ago I wrote the story "Fun in a New World". It lasted a short five chapters and wasn't even written well. Yet I got what I would call a good amount of reviews. I got some in the past couple months and remembered this story and the plans I'd had for it, so I decided I'd fix it up a bit a write the chapters I never got to.

This story is just supposed to be for fun, might even parody certain things later on. Not sure if I'll pair Naomi up with anyone. I might if it makes things funnier.

* * *

Naomi groaned loudly as she struggled to wake up and stretched out her back with a crack. She felt like she'd just spent the night sleeping on a bed made of rock. Attempting to overcome a yawn she took a quick glance at her watch.

"Oh my god! I'm going to be so late! What happened, why didn't the stinkin' alarm go off? Why-WOAH!"

Naomi had finally looked up from her watch and found herself surrounded by trees. Lots and lots of trees stretching out as far as the eye could see.

Naomi: O.O

Naomi cautiously walked up to one, as if one of its branches could reach out and bite her at any minute. Her finger reached out tentatively and poked it. She walked all around the tree and poked it constantly, until she was at last quite sure it was a tree.

For a second she just stood there, staring at the very real tree.

"WHAT THE HECK AM I DOING IN THE MIDDLE OF A FREAKIN' FOREST?" Naomi shouted at the sky. Birds flew out of the trees, squawking frantically.

The sky didn't shout back. Nothing did. All Naomi heard was the distant squawking of scared birds.

"Guess that means I'm alone," she muttered.

She would have guessed that this was some prank, but nobody she knew would go to this much trouble to pull a silly prank. Her friends weren't nearly strong enough and even her devious little brother knew how badly she would pummel him if he did this. '_If he somehow obtained the brains to think this up anyway,'_ Naomi thought.

Naomi found herself wearing yesterday's clothes, remembering how she'd fallen asleep in them last night on the couch while watching TV. '_Well, at least I'm not stuck in the middle of a forest in my PJ's,' _she thought, relieved. Her army green t-shirt and dark brown cargo pants were much more suitable for the forest. Naomi also was pleased to find her duffel bag a mere foot away from her. She vaguely recalled using that bulky thing as a pillow. How her head ever found comfort on that thing she would never know.

Desperate to find out what she was stuck in this forest alone with, Naomi quickly unzipped the bag and looked inside. In it she found her work out clothes, a bottle of Mountain Dew, her helmet and skateboard, her special black cap, her military jacket, and a lifetime supply of gummi bears and kisses.

'_Great, with this Mountain Dew I just might survive the day!'_ Naomi thought sarcastically as she slapped her cap on.

Her stomach suddenly emitted a large growl. It had not eaten since last night and was used to having breakfast by now. Preferably pancakes. Naomi grabbed a Hershey's kiss and popped it in her mouth, crumpling up the foil into a tiny ball. She fished out the paper bit and read her fortune. '_Changes are coming.'_

"Wow….these things sure are slow. Stupid fortune, what do you call this? Is this not 'change' enough for you?" Naomi realized what she was doing and slapped her forehead, "Listen to me, I'm arguing with a piece of paper. Five minutes out here and I've already lost it."

Naomi ripped up the miniscule fortune and stuffed it in her bag just as a strong wind blew over her head, blowing off her black cap.

"HEY! My cap! Get back here you good for nothin-OWW!"

Naomi hopped up and down on one foot while clutching the other, mumbling about evil chickens laughing at her suffering somewhere on a rocket ship in space. That was when she noticed she was barefoot. People didn't sleep with shoes. Her sneakers were probably still next to the couch.

"OH FOR THE LOVE OF FRENCH TOAST! You could have at least let me keep my shoes!" Naomi shouted up at the sky. Those two were really not getting along well today.

Another hard gust of wind blew, blowing Naomi's cap even farther. Screaming a bunch of angsty, mumbly nonsense at the universe and the chickens that inhabited it, she went hopping after her hat, attempting not to stub her toe again.

"OW!"

* * *

Yes, this chapter is short, but the first couple will be, since they're just slightly revised versions of my original chapters. After that they'll probably get longer.

If you want me to continue this rewrite, please review and say so! I've got three other fanfics I'm working on here, and my time goes to the ones who review the most!


	2. Just Hangin' Around

Yep, that's right. Two chapters in one day! Yes, I know they're short, but these are still the rewrites of the original chapters. I hope you like it better than the old one. Enjoy!

* * *

"Breakfast is ready," called out Katara from the fire pit.

Sokka was there at "breakfast", eagerly holding his bowl out before her. She glared at him before dipping the ladel in the pot and pouring some stew into his bowl. She made sure to scoop out a huge helping of vegetables for her beloved brother.

Sokka sniffed suspiciously at his serving before twisting into a gag face.

"Why is it always stew? And why does it always have so many vegetables!" he whined.

Katara twitched before smiling sweetly.

"Sokka, I suggest that you say thank you and walk off before I pour that bowl of boiling stew down your shirt and force you to cook your own stinking stew," she said through gritted teeth. She rose her ladel threateningly.

"You know you are such an amazing sister to cook this meal for all of us and I for one think you are underappreciated. I'll go tell the rest of the guys how amazing you are."

"That's what I thought," Katara crossed her arms and smirked in satiscation at the trail of dust Sokka had left behind.

Once the gang had all acquired their breakfast stew they sat down in the stone courtyard with the upside down fountain in the middle and ate. Zuko was discussing firebending techniques with Aang while Katara glared at Sokka. Sokka pretended not to notice and started an animated conversation out platypus bears with Teo and the Duke. Toph was explaining to Haru how awesome an earth bender she was and how she could kick his butt anytime anywhere. Haru was chuckling nervously, wondering what had ever made her think he wanted to fight her.

Suddenly the gang heard what sounded like angry shouting from the forest above them. They glanced at each other questioningly. The noise stopped and they waited in silence. Nothing. One of them shrugged and they all returned to their stew. They figured it had probably just been one of those weird shrieking birds, but when it came again—and closer this time—they got curious.

"What do you think that is?" Aang asked curiously.

"Maybe it's the Fire Nation! Maybe they've found us already! Maybe they're giving as a surprise attack!" Sokka suggested in a panic.

"Oh yes Sokka, I'm sure that's it. I'm sure they're out there right now, _shouting_ their surprise attack right at us," replied Katara sarcastically.

But that didn't mean there was no one out there. What if Sokka was right and it really was the Fire Nation? _'If it is then their definition of stealthy has changed since I left,'_ thought Zuko.

Leaving behind Haru and the other two, Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Zuko jumped on Appa and flew up to the edge of the cliff above(remember the temples are all upside down under a cliff). Once they'd all hopped off the bison Toph put her hand to the ground and immediately responded.

"Hey, there is someone! I can feel it! The person isn't too far. Come on you guys!" Toph shouted at the group and ran off into the woods.

"Wonder why they were yelling," pondered Zuko out loud.

Just a loud scream was heard. Worried at what could have happened the group quickly made their way towards the sound. But when they reached the area that they believed the scream had come from, there was no one.

"Toph, where is this person?" Aang asked frantically.

"I don't know, they disappeared, the person just disappeared!" Toph replied, confused. She put both palms to the ground in an attempt to relocate the person.

"Well, that's ok, cause we just found her," Sokka pointed up.

Everyone but Toph followed his finger and found a girl hanging upside down from a tree by a rope that was tied around her feet. Their mouths gaped open.

"What? What is it guys? Where is this person?" Toph asked anxiously, knowing that her pale eyes were missing something here.

"She's up in the tree," explained Aang. He pointed up as well, but lowered his hand when he remembered that it was meaningless.

The hanging girl turned around and looked down in their direction. She had short chestnut brown hair with one green-dyed streak that hung upside down from her head. Her skin was lightly tanned from hours spent skateboarding outside with very few freckles dotting her cheeks.

"'Sup?" the girl said to them, as if hanging upside down like this was perfectly normal.

"Uh…is there a reason you're hanging upside down?" Aang asked.

"Yes, it's very simple," the girl started to explain in an extremely calm-like voice, "THE FOREST JUST WANTS TO KILL ME THAT'S ALL!"

The gang back away slowly. The old rope holding the girl up snapped and gravity mercilessly crashed her to the ground.

"oowww…."

She rubbed the back of her head for a second, her eyes searching the ground around her. They finally landed on a black object. She said something about the sky not winning this round and plucked it off the ground. As she placed it on her head Aang opened his mouth to ask another question, but Sokka stopped him.

"Don't talk to her, she could be Fire Nation!" he warned.

The girl put her hands on her hips and stared at him quizzically. Why did that name sound so familiar?

"What's that, some new gang or something?"

"You know very well what I'm talking about Fire Nation scum!" Sokka pointed accusingly.

She raised an eyebrow, then crossed her arms over her chest and smirked, enjoying his little rant.

"And...you're not even listening to me are you?"

"Nope " her smirk deepened.

Sokka: T_T

The girl scanned the group, as if almost recognizing them.

"Did I walk into an anime convention?"

"Huh?" Aang asked in a puzzled voice.

"Your outfits and stuff, why are you dressed like that?"

"We should be asking you that," countered Zuko as he looked at her tomboyish wardrobe choice.

The girl's eyes widened as she looked at Zuko. Or more precisely, Zuko's scar. Only one person could look that hot while having a burn mark that covered a quarter of their face.

"Wait a sec. A 12 year old bald kid with arrow tattoos, girl with hair loopies, short blind barefoot girl, crazy guy with boomerang, and an angsty scarred teenager with emo hair? You gotta be kidding m…"

"Look out! She's gonna-!" Toph shouted as the girl's eyes rolled and she fell back.

* * *

Reviews make me feel all fuzzy inside. That fuzzy feeling inspires and motivates me to write more chapters. Those chapters then get put on here and entertain the next ten or so minutes of your life. And then their awesomeness makes you want to review again to get more awesome chapters. It's a cycle people! Keep it going!


	3. Waking Up On The Wrong Side Of Reality

Wow, I've never posted three chapters in two days before. Then again, this is just the rewrite, but I'm getting so many fun ideas for this now. I think I might actually finish the story this time!

And thank you to my three first reviewers! You made me want to post this chapter today!

* * *

"What do we do now, how do we wake her up?"

"How should I know?"

"I've got a way," Toph smirked.

"NOO!" everybody shouted in unison.

"I know!" Sokka proclaimed.

He dashed over to the fire pit and grabbed a bowl of hot stew. He ran back and held the bowl under her nose.

"This always works for me," Sokka said proudly.

Katara rolled her eyes at her brother's stomach.

"Sokka, don't be silly, just because it works on you doesn't mean it'll work on-"

The girl's eyes popped open. She made a reach for the bowl, but found her hands bound and wrapped around the stone pillar behind her. Her feet were tied as well. After her fainting episode the group had been unsure of what to do with the girl. They couldn't very well leave her out all alone in the forest, though Sokka didn't seem to mind that idea. Actually he had been the one to suggest it as he ranted on about her being a fire nation 'spy', even after Katara pointed out that a spy would not have gotten caught in the world's most obvious animal trap and then proceed to faint at the sight of her targets. Zuko just hoped that for his nation's honor's sake that she was not a spy.

Naomi wriggled her hands and looked up at her captors, recognizing them once again.

"I'm tied to a pole," she said in that calm voice of hers. She turned to the group, "WHY THE HECK AM I TIED TO A POLE? HAVE I NOT LOST ENOUGH DIGNITY TODAY ALREADY?"

Everyone took a few steps back, just in case she got loose. The girl finally took a deep breath and seemed to calm down, the red hue draining from her face. Her stomach emitted a large growl. She rose her head and pouted out her bottom lip, her puppy dog eyes fixed on the food in Sokka's hand.

"Look, I'm starving, no food for eight hours, can you just untie me so I can eat?" the girl looked at the stew desperately.

The group exchanged glances and shrugged. Zuko, ignoring Sokka's constant protests about her being Fire Nation, untied her hands. She rubbed her wrists tenderly as Zuko unbound her feet. '_Wow he is so much cuter in person'_, she thought _'My best friend would die to be in my place right now'_. Her best friend was one of the fan girls whom if she ever laid eyes on the actual Zuko would proceed to chase him to the ends of the Fire Nation and ask for his hand in marriage. Well, not really _ask_, more like _demand._

The second her feet were free the girl snatched the food and gulped it down ravenously. Hey, she had missed breakfast. Sokka just stared dumbfounded at his empty hands, he hadn't even seen her grab it.

Less than a minute later the girl dropped the empty bowl beside her and stood up, brushing the forest dirt off her cargo pants and straightening her black cap. Finally, she took a deep breath and spoke to the group, who meanwhile had just been watching her and trying to figure out whether or not she was a threat. Aang's guess was on _not._

"Ok, before I jump to conclusions, what are your names?" the girl decided that would be the easiest place to start and confirm whether or not they were really _them_ or just some crazy kidnapping cosplayers. Hey, it could happen.

"Why should we tell you? You could be a Fire Nation infiltrator!" Sokka protested loudly.

The girl only offered an amused smile at Sokka's comment.

"Fine then, I'll take a wild guess," she pointed to Aang, "Ok, you're Aang, Katara, Toph, Sokka, Zuko, Haru, The Duke, and the flying wheelchair kid is Teo," she took a deep breath, "Ok, that was a mouthful, you know it was much easier when it was just the four of you making your way up to the North Pole in season 1."

The gang's mouths dropped. The girl put her hands together and prayed she was wrong, but saw their shocked faces and knew she was right. She muttered something about dreaming and pinched herself. Then she went over to a stone pole and kicked it, only to end up hopping on one foot screaming in pain, forgetting that she had no shoes on. Katara was starting to worry a bit about this girl's mental state. Zuko was just glad she wasn't Fire Nation.

"Ooookay, so this _is_ real. I somehow woke up and ended up in the avatar world…with the avatar characters," the girl played with her cap as she thought this over. "Geez, talk about waking up on the wrong side of reality." She slapped her cap back on.

The kids looked at each other, utterly mystified. It's not everyday you meet a girl in weird clothing who talks to herself. They exchanged glances for a second, before pushing Aang out to talk to her, insisting how it was his job as the avatar. Aang gulped.

"Err…a…what's your name?"

"Naomi," she answered, staring at her hands as if they might blow up any second. Which, as far as she knew at this point, they might.

Aang made his way back to the group, but they waved their arms and forced him back to her.

"Uh…where ya from?"

"Not here." Naomi pinched her cheek and tugged on it.

"Are you a bender?" Aang was running out of questions.

"Uh…..I don't know, am I?" Naomi pondered the possibility of this, "Hmm, I didn't consider that! What if I am a bender? That would be so cool!...Uh…how do I know if I'm a bender?"

Aang shrugged, it wasn't really something you figured out. You just sort of knew.

Naomi stared at her hands again before she plopped herself on the ground and fell back, staring up at the ceiling. Then she closed her eyes and started mumbling things. Aang tiptoed back to the group, where they all huddled to whisper things over.

"Now what?" he asked.

"You're the avatar, you decide!"

"But-but...you're here to help the avatar, so help me decide!"

"How should we know?"

"I think she's lying, she's probably a spy, how else would she know our names?"

"This is getting annoying. If it'll get you to shut your blubbermouth, then I'll find out if she's a spy."

Toph popped her head out of the group's circle and shouted over at Naomi, "Hey, Naomi! You Fire Nation or what?"

Naomi ceased mumbling and opened her eyes, "Or what."

Toph stuck her head back in, "Well, that settles that. Anymore questions? Oh, and yes she was telling the truth earlier Aang."

Aang closed his mouth, only to open it again. "Maybe we should just invite her to stay with us, doesn't seem like she has anywhere else to go," he suggested, always the first to offer kindness to strangers…no matter how unstable they may seem.

"Except back to the Fire Nation!"

"Give it a rest Sokka," Katara groaned.

"No I will n-OWW! What was that for?"

"Your mouth," Katara yelled, fist in the air. "So it would shut up!"

"Guys, guys. Calm down, I'll go ask her if you has a place to stay."

Aang popped his head out.

"Hey Naomi, got a place to stay?"

Naomi opened her eyes again.

"If I did I'd be there," she stated frankly.

Aang turn back to the others. "Well, that's settled then, I'll ask her if she wants to stay with us."

"Wait Aang! She's Fire N-"

"Hey Naomi, want to stay with us?"

Naomi sat up, "Seriously? Haven't you guys been creeped out enough for one day?"

"More like for life," muttered Sokka. Katara whacked him on the head.

"Don't worry, we've seen our share of weird things." Aang reassured her, though he had definitely been weirded out. But considering that he had appeared in Katara and Sokka's life out of a giant iceberg in the South Pole and the first thing he'd ask them was if they wanted to go penguin sledding, he could relate.

"Like that time Yue turned into the moon spirit or when you got trapped in a swamp and fought off a giant plant?" Naomi asked.

"What?" Aang wasn't quite sure he had heard right.

"Hmm…oh, nothing, nothing at all." Naomi decided to hide the fact that she knew practically anything and everything about these people. Better not to alter the series too much. What with the fate of this world being at stake here and all.

_Besides, this might be fun,_ she thought as she grabbed her duffel and was shown to her room by the gang. Zuko stayed behind as he realized what had just happened.

"Hey, how come you accepted her so fast? I had to risk my life with a crazy exploding man to join this group!" Zuko shouted after them. They just kept walking. "Oh, it's always harder for the Prince isn't it?"

* * *

Remember that speech about reviews and chapters being a cycle? Well keep it going! Plz?


	4. Skateboarding Across a Canyon

Ok, I know it took forever to post this chapter. But too be fair, I have so many other things going on in my life than fanfiction. That and this chapter is officially the longest chapter I have ever written!

And thank you to all the people who have already reviewed to me, you all are what encouraged me to write this chapter. Virtual cookies to you all!

* * *

After the gang had shown Naomi her room and she'd settled in(actually she just threw her duffel bag on the bed), Naomi realized something that they had failed to portray on the show.

"This is boring!" she shouted at the sky.

The group looked up, but didn't do anything. They were used to Naomi's random conversations with the sky.

_Why couldn't I have appeared in Season 1?_ She wondered. There they had constantly been traveling every day; it had to have been more interesting! Then again, they had been stuck sitting on a giant bison for hours on end. That part couldn't have been all that fascinating.

"What do you guys do for fun in the temple episodes? When do we get ambushed and forced to leave?" she asked.

"We're getting ambushed?" cried Aang.

_Crap_, Naomi realized. She wasn't supposed to know that.

"No, I'm just saying, it would be more interesting than this!" she stood up and motioned at the surrounding landscape of upside down buildings.

The group immediately calmed down when they realized they weren't actually going to be ambushed. Zuko wondered if this girl knew more than she was letting on. _Yeah…maybe the sky told her_, he thought to himself sarcastically as he realized how unlikely that was.

"If you're bored, why don't you just go explore or something?" Aang suggested.

"No Aang! She'll get a layout of the land and tell the Fire Nation how to sneak up on us! We'll be attacked before nightfall!" exclaimed Sokka. "OW!"

Sokka spun around to glower evilly at whoever had thrown the bowl at his head.

"Whoopsy, musta slipped," Naomi shrugged and looked away, whistling innocently.

Katara chuckled, but quickly covered her mouth when Sokka aimed his glare at her.

"Even though I don't want to do what would please Sokka, wouldn't it take too long to cover that much ground? I think I'd get bored pretty fast walking down stone hallways all day long."

"Then find a way to go faster," suggested Toph, wishing they could change the subject already. "I've heard running makes one speed up quite a bit."

"Naah, running's no fun either," said Naomi, unaware of Toph's intended sarcasm.

Naomi's thoughts went back to the contents of her duffel bag.

"That's it!" Naomi jumped up at ran out of the stone courtyard.

Everyone stared at the door she went through.

"We probably won't see her for a while," Zuko said.

And just as he said that Naomi came out rolling on top of a black board of wood with four wheels attached to the bottom. On her head sat a bulky round hat with straps that connected under her chin. Her elbows and knees were adorned with odd looking armor.

"See, I told you she's Fire Nation! She's already gotten into her battle armor!"

"Sokka, in case you didn't notice when you tried to invade my land…my nation doesn't dress that way!" shouted Zuko, insulted that such clothing was even considered to be part of his culture.

The new girl pushed herself forward and stopped her skateboard before the two.

"It's not armor, it's protective gear. Some people may think it's cool not to wear it, but after nearly ripping the skin off my arm I realized that it's a good idea to wear it."

Naomi pumped her fist in the air and grinned, showing off her pearly whites.

"Now this is how you explore abandoned upside down temples!" she cheered. She thrusted herself forward with her right foot and sped off down the nearest hallway.

"Can someone please tell me what just happened?" asked Toph. "Cause Naomi just gave off the world's weirdest vibrations just now."

"Not a clue," answered Aang, still staring dumbfoundedly at the hallway Naomi had rolled off into.

* * *

Long abandoned tunnels on foot? Boring. Long abandoned tunnels on a skateboard? AWESOME!

Naomi had no idea how long she'd been skating around these old topsey turvey temples, but she knew it was the coolest thing she had ever done in her _life._ Take an ancient ruin with endless beautiful architecture. Now back home Naomi knew that such a beautiful place would be streaming with tourists and scientists. The coolest place would be blocked off with fancy ropes and signs and the few things you could see you could NOT touch. Well, this place was deserted: no ropes, no people, nada! No restrictions. Just a skateboard and your voice.

"ECHOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Naomi shouted at the rock corridor(a nice change from the sky).

She giggled as she heard "_echo echo echo"_ continue on around her. Why had they never shown these parts in the show? They were so huge and amazing. Naomi had earlier passed by what she was sure to be some old ballroom. It had been fun, but not nearly as much fun as the dining hall had been.

_GROWL._

Naomi put her left foot to the ground and swiftly skidded to a stop. Bright green eyes looked down at her stomach. It emitted another loud growl.

"Looks like I've been sightseeing a bit longer than I thought," she said to herself.

It wasn't dark yet, but as Naomi peeked out a small window built in the stone she noticed the sun was starting to get pretty low in the sky. Had she really missed lunch? Naomi never missed a meal! Food was one of the most important things to her.

_Growl. _

_Guess I should head back now huh?_ She asked her stomach. It rumbled in response. _Alright, be patient will you? I'll go back now._

Naomi sighed and decided to put off any more exploring until tomorrow. She hoped she would be able to stay in the avatar world another day. Would she just wake up tomorrow back home? Maybe she was dreaming, and when she went back to sleep she would just wake up back home on the same day.

_But I don't want to go home yet,_ the girl whined inwardly as she turned around and skateboard back the way she came._ This is the coolest thing that's ever happen to me. I don't want it to end so soon._

A couple minutes passed before Naomi started to realize something very important.

"I'M LOST?" she shouted at the hallway. The sky was not visible at the moment, so she had to make due.

Yes, she was lost. Naomi had taken so many random turns in the past couple hours that she had no idea where she was. Not only that, but-

"THE TUNNELS ALL LOOK THE SAME!"

As beautiful as these old ruins were, to an outsider, they felt like a maze! Naomi had only failed to notice this earlier because she hadn't cared where she had been going. Now she was hungry and she wanted to go back!

* * *

***Thirty minutes later.***

"STUPID TUNNEL! I'M HUNGRY! JUST LET ME GO BACK ALREADY!" she yelled out, ignoring the echoes of her angry voice. "YOU'VE HAD YOUR FUN, NOW LET ME EEEEEEAAAT!"

_I really should have thought about little detail sooner,_ Naomi thought to herself. It was probably going to get dark in less than half an hour and Naomi did not want to be stuck out here alone in the dark. These tunnels were cool, but at night they were probably dark and creepy!

"Naomi? Naomi!"

What was that? Could it be? A voice! A glorious voice! A savior!

"Didyoubringanyfood?" was the first thing that Naomi shouted at her savior as she glomped him.

The savior stood awkwardly stiff at her friendly glomp. She gazed up at the glompee and found Zuko staring at her wide eyed with his cheeks slightly pink. Aaawww! Just like when Toph glomped him later in the series!

_Figures,_ she thought and unglomped the prince. _He's too uptight for glomping. Then again, that makes it all the more fun._ Naomi grinned evilly to herself and made a mental note to glomp Zuko more.

"Is that all you have to say?" Zuko asked.

"Did you bring any dessert?"

He sighed.

"Nevermind, let's just go back already. The others are going to eat soon and I don't feel like missing dinner," Zuko started walking off in the direction he had come from. The group had sent him off on the wild goose chase for the lost new girl, insisting how it was one of his duties as the new guy. He did not want to miss a meal over this.

"How did you find me in this maze?" inquired Naomi as she motioned dramatically at the stone architecture surrounding them. This caused her to lose her balance on the skateboard and quickly come to stop.

"Trust me; it wasn't too hard with you screaming 'STUPID TUNNEL!' every ten seconds," he answered. "You know, most people just call for help."

Naomi slapped her forehead. Why hadn't she thought of that?

Zuko smirked when she realized her stupidity.

"Come on, you've got wheels. Use them and move it," he ordered before resuming the long trek back to the gang's occupational area.

"How long did it take you to get here anyway?" Naomi's stomach was getting more impatient with every passing minute; she wasn't sure how much longer she could take it.

"About an hour or so, you wandered off pretty far. We're on the other side of the canyon."

"We are?"

"You didn't notice crossing on top of the upside down bridge?"

"Oh yeeaaaaaah…." She did vaguely recall passing over some sort of bridge. Had it been upside down too? She couldn't remember exactly, her mind had been on the welfare of the French Toast she left sitting on the counter at home before falling asleep. _It's probably stale by now,_ she thought sadly to herself. _Or eaten._

With Zuko walking at a leisurely pace and Naomi unable to go on ahead because she didn't know the way, this trip was taking way too long. And Naomi was already impatient as it was. As the two passed by one of the many tunnels branching of main corridor, she overheard something.

"Hey, Zuko, do you hear that?" Naomi asked as she approached the tunnel. The voices sounded familiar. "It sounds like Katara and Sokka! And they're arguing!"

Zuko came over and listened as well.

"Yeah, maybe this tunnel leads to them. Sure would save us a lot of time if it did."

"Not enough," Naomi mumbled to herself.

The gears in her head turned. This passage was different than the rest. The opening was round, unlike the other rectangular ones. Its walls were smoother and, from what little she could see of it since it was bathed in darkness, seemed to slope down gradually. Naomi grabbed Zuko's hand and held it half a foot above her head and told him to set a flame. Not sure what she had in mind, Zuko reluctantly created a small flame on the tip of his pointer finger above her head.

"I have an idea!" she cried the second it lit up.

Naomi jumped back on her skateboard and placed herself at the tunnel opening. She scooted her feet forward on the board and motioned to Zuko.

"Hop on."

The prince glanced down at what to him looked like a rolling deathtrap and realized what she had in mind.

"Ooooh no. There is no way in h—"

"Oh come on you party pooper. This will get us there in less than a minute!"

Naomi seized his hand and pulled him on. Skateboards were meant for only one person, so it was a very tight fit, with Naomi at the front and Zuko behind her.

"Are you sure this is safe?"

"Nope!"

"Well, then maybe we shoul—"

"Too late!" Naomi shouted. She pushed her left foot off the ground and into the dark tunnel.

* * *

The two were quickly engulfed in complete darkness as they raced down the tunnel. Naomi shrieked in delight while Zuko struggled not to scream in fear. The tunnel was long and didn't bother to offer them any light.

"Hey Zuko!" yelled Naomi over the air rushing loudly past them.

Zuko opened his mouth but only caught a mouthful of Naomi's hair. He turned away and spit it out.

"Yeah?"

"I just realized something. Didn't you say that we were on the other side of the canyon from the others?"

"What are you trying to say?" Zuko didn't like where this was going. And call him crazy, but he could swear that the tunnel had suddenly become steeper and they were going much faster.

"Well, doesn't this tunnel remind you of a garbage shute? You know, where people dump stuff?"

Zuko's eyes widened. But before he could reply the slope abruptly curve upwards.

Then ended.

The two and the skateboard were suddenly flying through the air over the middle of the canyon! Nothing lay below them except the seemingly bottomless abyss.

Naomi shifted her feet to take their normal stance on the entire skateboard, bent forward and balanced her arms out beside her. Zuko wrapped him arms desperately around her waist, his legs dangling in the air behind him, in an attempt to stay with the skateboard. If he let go, he would no doubt instantly fall like a dead weight into the canyon.

_You know, I always believed that if I died it would be because my sister or my father shot me with lightning, or because Katara finally snapped and killed me for lighting a flame around Aang, _Zuko thought to himself. _Not because of some girl and a crazy stunt over a canyon!

* * *

_

Right across from the spot where the two teenagers had been launched was the stone courtyard where the gang was getting ready for dinner.

"Hey guys, do you hear something?" asked Sokka, looking around for the source of the noise.

It was faint, but it sounded like screaming. When he finally turned to the canyon he saw two shapes flying through the air.

"Aang! Aang!" Sokka jumped up and down and pointed frantically at the two figures soaring over the chasm.

Aang gasped as he immediately spotted them. He rushed forward and hastily assumed his earth bending stance.

* * *

Naomi screamed and laughed hysterically as they coasted through the air. Meanwhile Zuko, the one who was usually calm and rational in times of great crisis, was screaming for his life.

"We're going to die! WE'RE GOING TO FREAKING DIE!" he yelled hysterically at the top of his lungs.

Suddenly their soaring up came to an end and gravity affected the two projectiles as it did all objects. The skateboard started to separate itself from Naomi's feet and Zuko was practically upside down as he clung to Naomi's waist, the rest of his body dropping above him.

Just when Naomi thought that they really were going to die a giant block of stone jutted out from the temples and created a long curved slope below her. She smirked and prepared herself.

They landed hard on the stone, Naomi just barely able to stay on her skateboard. Had they not landed on a slope and continued moving the impact would not have treated them kindly. The prince dangled like a rag doll in the air as she skillfully rushed down the incline. The gradient was so long that by the time they reached flat ground Naomi's skateboard had slowed to a stop, Zuko somehow landing feet first on the board along the way.

The gang stared dumbfounded. Their jaws dropped as Naomi rolled to a stop right before them.

Naomi grinned widely, unable to stop smiling. That had been the biggest rush ever. She had never felt so much thrill and ecstasy. Never had she been so petrified and excited at the same time in her life. She was sweating and panting and just smiling like crazy. She stepped off her skateboard and raised both her hands in the air in rock out signs and emitted one last delighted shout.

"Yeeeaaaah!"

Naomi allowed her hands to dropped back down. She suddenly felt exhausted. That was when she felt something shaking. Whatever it was had a death grip on her waist.

_When did he start hanging on to me?_ She thought. She hadn't been paying much attention to the firebender while airborne.

"Zuko? You can let go now you know. We're on the ground again," she informed him

But Zuko didn't let go; he didn't budge. Naomi was forced to pry him off. He didn't even seem to notice when she did. His face was as pale as a ghost and frozen in shock, his eyes wide and his mouth shut tight. He slowly stood up and blankly walked away.

The gang watched speechless as he ambled off in the direction of his room. Naomi turned to them.

"So is dinner ready yet?"

* * *

Alright, you have no idea how long it took to write this! Review please! I spent extra time on this tonight just to make sure I could post it for you guys! Also, feel free to point out any grammar or spelling mistakes. It would be a big help, since staring at the same seven pages of words for over a week can make it hard for the writer to notice any mistakes.

Again, please review and keep that cycle going!


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